I went to the southwest in the U.S, especially New Mexico state and Arizona state from October 15th to October 21th. I experienced a lot of things there with my fabulous friends who were my classmates, and teachers. Also, I was able to make a lot of fantastic memories on this trip, such as making new friends and viewing the sunset and sunrise at the Grand Canyon. The reason we visit New Mexico and Arizona was a kind of educational tour for us, like its history and nature. There are three fantastic things I experienced.
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| The University of New Mexico |
First of all, the sensational thing I experienced was visiting the University of New Mexico. I experienced two rare things. First, a woman guided us around this school, and she talked about it a lot. I was able to learn about the school because she explained it thoroughly. I was surprised that this school had seven museums and a duck pond. The museums are free of charge, and people can hold their wedding near the duck pond. We were not able to visit these museums, but I saw a lot of friendly ducks, and they approached us as we took pictures of them. They were really cute. Second, I was able to make a new friend while joining a Japanese class at the university. She was so friendly and bright. She had studied Japanese so hard because she studied it every day, so I was so stunned. She interviewed me in Japanese, and wrote my answer in her notebook in Japanese. The most interesting thing was the reason she had studied Japanese. It was that she thought Japanese was beautiful. I was really interested in this answer, so I couldn’t help wondering why she thought that. I was able to have a wonderful time at the University of New Mexico because I was able to learn a lot of new things by being mixed with people, so visiting the university was absolutely wonderful.
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| Acoma |
Second, visiting Laguana-Acoma Junior and High School was also definitely marvelous. Some students guided us inside of the school. They belonged to a military club, so they wore military uniforms. They were so cool, and it was the first time for me to see them up close. The students were really kind, and they explained a lot of things about their school down to the smallest detail. I was stunned that the school has a Japanese class and one of the students studied Japanese on his own. Also, some students of a traditional dance class performed their traditional dance for us. I was impressed with it. They wore folk costumes. After that, we were able to eat their traditional dishes. They were so delicious, and I definitely felt new. The most interesting thing was a phrase on a whiteboard in their classroom. It said “Don’t speak English”. I was really surprised at it. Before we left the school, the students gave pens to us. The students were really friendly. I wanted to talk with them more. I experienced some rare things, so I was pleased that I was able to meet the students in Laguana-Acoma Junior and High School.
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| The Grand Canyon |
Third, I had a fabulous time at the Grand Canyon. I was able to see the sunset and sunrise there. They were absolutely fabulous and beautiful, so I was really impressed with them. I wake up at 4:30 and saw the sunrise. It was hard, but I was able to see the beautiful sunrise because of it. On the other hand, when I saw the sunset in the evening, I was impressed with the sky because it was mixed with blue, red, and pink. However, the two days I stayed at Grand Canyon were really chilly and windy, but the daytime was warm. On our free-day, I walked a lot with my friends. In the early morning, we viewed the sunrise again, and then we walked along the cliff of the Grand Canyon. I was really exhausted, and my friends and I walked more than twenty thousand steps, so my leg muscles were really sore. Also, we visited Yavapai Museum. It was built on the cliff of the Grand Canyon, so the scenery was really great. I absolutely had a wonderful time at the Grand Canyon with my friends. I was so exhausted, but I was really satisfied that I was able to make a lot of precious memories and to take a lot of pictures with them.
To sum up, in seven days of my trip, I experienced a lot of rare and wonderful things with my precious friends and teachers. All of them are fantastic things for me, especially visiting the Grand Canyon, and I still cannot believe that I went there. Also, I want to brag that I visited it to my family and friends in Japan. I was really pleased that I was able to experience all of this. I will never forget this trip forever.
